REMEMBER, YOU TOO SHALL DIE
“Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day. The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time.”
—Seneca
Remember that you will die. This is one of the most prominent sayings in stoic philosophy. It’s a reminder that death comes for us all. I doesn’t matter if you’re a king, a pauper, a rich man, or a poor man, man or woman, death is inescapable and every day it’s getting a little closer. It’s an idea so important that I have it tattooed on my leg, so that every time I look down I’m reminded that death is a universal truth and our time is shorter than we think.
Now some would think that accepting death would make everything meaningless, but in fact it’s quite the opposite. Because we’re going to die and we know our time is limited there is a beauty in the idea that we’re not here forever. It gives small moments more weight and meaning. It gives urgency to complete our meaningful work. It’s a filter by which we can judge our efforts, our actions, and where we choose to place our attention.
I could walk out of the door tomorrow and death could find me. Did I tell the people that I love how much they mean to me or did I let the opportunity pass thinking I have more time? Was I present and engaged in playing with my two year old son or did I throw on a movie so I could browse my phone? Did I choose to be a better partner to my wife, or was I simply going through the motions? Did I take the actions necessary to be a little bit better today or did I allow procrastination and low-value entertainment keep me stagnant? At the end of my life will I wish that I had laughed at one more meme on Instagram, or that I had spent more time seeking inner peace and wisdom to become the best version of myself I could possibly be? Did I pursue my work with my best efforts each day or did I simply phone it in?
Death might not catch us today, or even tomorrow, or even for decades to come, but it’s a fact that one day it will. It’s coming for us all. But there is beauty and opportunity in our limited time. Opportunity to understand that every moment is precious because every moment could be our last.
So live. Live, love, be grateful. Do the hard things without fear. Spend time on the things that truly matter, and ignore that things that don’t. Work on building the wisdom and knowledge that will help you tell the difference. Work on being in the present moment, on enjoying the small experiences that make every day life so beautiful and unique, because one day, it’ll all be gone.
So start now. Not tomorrow, not a week from now, not when the time is right. Start now, because you never know when the opportunity to start will be gone.